Teardrops
by SakuraDrops93
Summary: Sequel to Reflections. Itachi changed Sakura's true memories into false ones he made himself. Will Sasuke be able to help her remember her lost memories? ItaSakuSasu Read and Review please! Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is the sequel. Hope you guys like it.

_Hi- _Thoughts

* * *

Sakura awoke to find herself in a dark room...again. _Where am I? _She looked around. She could tell it wasn't Itachi's room because: One- Everything was cement. Two- She was chained to the wall. Three- There was no bed. Four- She could actually see where she was. 

"I see you're awake kunoichi," a dark voice echoed throughout the stone walls.

Sakura instantly knew who it was. "Itachi!"

Itachi appeared from behind a pillar, but was covered by the shadows. "Good guess."

"Where am I?"

"In a room."

"I know I'm in a room but where?"

"That's none of your concern right now." Itachi slowly emerged from the darknes and approached the trembling Sakura.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura asked nervously.

Itachi chuckled stiffly. "I wouldn't worry about what I'm doing right now."

Sakura arched an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

"Kunoichi, do you know what is one of life's greatest gifts?" Sakura shook her head. "Memories."

"Memories?"

"Yes. And I think you should try to go back through them right now."

"Why?"

"Just do it." Itachi's snarl frightened Sakura, so she obeyed and closed her eyes, thinking back from childhood to teen years.

Ten minutes passed. "I'm done," Sakura whispered and opened her eyes. Itachi raised his hand to her face and made some sort of hand sign with his other hand. Sakura started to panic. "What are you-"

Some sort of sonic wave emerged from Itachi's hand and struck Sakura. "I told you not to worry about what I would do," Itachi whispered to her ear.

"I-ta-chi...," Sakura sighed as her eyes slowly closed and her body fell limp within the chains she was held in.

Itachi looked at the sleeping girl emotionlessly. He then unchained her and carried her to his room at the Akatsuki headquarters.


	2. Chapter 2

"Uchiha," the voice of their leader echoed throughout the dark shadows, "Why did you bring a weak kunoichi into our headquarters? She has no business being here."

Itachi sat on the chair in the meeting room calmly. He then replied, "She may be useful to us." That statement only brought laughter in the room.

"Useful?" Deidara cackled, "For YOU maybe, but not us! She's frail and weak. How can you think of her as useful?"

Kisame turned to Itachi and murmured, "I'll have to agree with them on this one."

Itachi stood up and began to explain his dark plans. "Her hatred. As the Akatsuki, we should all know that our power comes from one scource: hatred. I have replaced the kunoichi's memories with ones that I created; made to bring anger and hatred. Her hatred will probably outgrow all of ours combined, so we must be careful when she awakens from her painful slumber. All she'll ever know is me being someone whom she looks up to, and that her 'friends' are her enemies."

Their leader's eyes seemed to glint in the darkness. "Very good Uchiha," he hummed, "When she awakens, I will put her with you and Kisame. You two will teach her how to fight and spy as an Akatsuki member. When she has mastered all that needs to be learned, bring here to headquarters and we shall see if the student surpasses the teacher."

Itachi sat down and the meeting room was full of murmurs.

Meanwhile, Sakura rolled and tossed in Itachi's bed, and was sweating madly. "N..no," she mumbled in her sleep, "Go away." She was dreaming of the memories Itachi gave her.

_Dream:_

_Eight year old Sakura fell down on the mud puddle and looked up at the people who pushed her._

_"Na na forehead girl!" they chanted. They were Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Temari, and Hinata, exept Hinata only giggled. They all took out kunai and shuriken and threw them at the crying Sakura._

_Pain shot through Sakura's body. She screamed and collapsed into the mud puddle again. "Please stop it!" she pleaded, "I'm begging you!"_

_She looked to her right and saw Gaara standing there looking at her. "Help me!" she cried, "Please! Make them stop, it hurts!"_

_Gaara remained still. **Bam! **He shot his sand at Sakura and covered her with it until she was a mound. "Desert Coffin," he hissed. He closed his hand._

_Sakura cried out in pain as the sand crushed her. _

_End of Dream._

Sakura gasped and sat up panting. She looked around and saw Itachi sitting on a chair looking at her coldly. "Itachi!" she squeaked, "I just had a nightmare." She huddled herself.

_Excellent. It worked. _Itachi nodded and said, "They weren't nightmares, Sakura." _Wow. I called her by her name. _Sakura looked at him with a confused expression. "You were starting to remember your past."

"But then...," Sakura started, "That means that...my nightmares were my memories?" She sadly looked at him. "That means that they're all real." Itachi nodded...again. "Life is cruel..."

Itachi hid a smirk and said, "Yes. Indeed it is. And you will continue to have these nightmares for a week."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror and she screamed, "No! Make them stop! I only need one day to know I HATE them!" She placed her head in her hands and cried.

"Sakura," Itachi whispered, "One day you say?"

"Yes. One day."

"Then look into my eyes."

Sakura lifted her head and looked into Itachi's eyes like she was told and gasped. "What's going on?" His sharingan started to spin and so did the room.

"I'm granting your wish. You'll have your hatred all in one day."

Sakura was pulled into a world of darkness and was all alone. There, she watched her 'past' play before her in the shadows. In the ouside world, she was in a small koma, but would awaken within a day.

Itachi left his room and closed the door_. She sleeps a lot, but they're all my doing_. He snickered to himself and went to find their leader.

One day later...

The Akatsuki were in the meeting room discussing about Itachi, Kisame, and Sakura's new lair when the door slammed open. All of the members turned their attentionswest and saw a pain-filled sakura standing by the door, glaring.

"Itachi," she hissed, "Where are these people?" The Akatsuki were starting to get excited now. "I wanna kill them for what they've done. Now where are they?"

"Sakura," Itachi muttered, hiding a chuckle, "We're in the middle of a meeting and you're interrupting."

"I don't care," came Sakura's venomous reply, "I want blood from them, on my hands!"

Itachi looked up at his leader.

His leader nodded.

Itachi got up and walked up to Sakura and handed her a bundle of something. "What's this?" Sakura questioned angrily.

"Clothes," Itachi replied coolly, "Put them on and then we'll talk."

Sakura sent him a cold glare and snatched away the bundle. "We'd better." She huffed and exited the room.

"I see your plan was a success," the leader snickered, "Well done. Now, train her well."

Itachi and Kisame nodded. _This is going to be tough.

* * *

_

**Author's Note: **I wonder how Sakura will look like in her new clothes. Hmm... 


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke and Naruto were on their way back to the Hokage tower. Many of the Konoha citizens stared at them as they passed by, but the two didn't care. Sakura and Tsunade were the only two things in their minds.

"Sasuke-teme," Naruto grumbled, "What should we tell Tsunade-sama?"

"That we failed," Sasuke answered coldly. He kept on walking.

Naruto stopped in his tracks_. He's talking to me like nothing happened_! "Why are you talking to me like nothing happened?" He stopped walking.

Sasuke stopped walking, too. "We have to learn how to cope with a loss, Naruto." With that, he continued walking.

"How could you say that?" Naruto shouted causing citizens to look their way and Sasuke to stop again. "Sakura is our friend and comrade! Yet, you talk about her like she's some sort of THING that's not even worth our efforts!" Tears were running down his face now, yet his face had a look of anger.

"I'll admit it Naruto!" Sasuke yelled all of a sudden, "I'll admit that she was one of my only closest friends and she was a good comrade! I'll also admit that her loss broke me...BIG TIME! So don't you dare say that I talk about her like she's some sort of THING!" He fell on his knees and broke into a sob. "Losing either you or Sakura is like losing my family again!"

Naruto's expression turned into a sad one with a bit of guilt mixed in_. So he does care. He just didn't want to talk about it_. "Sasuke...hm," Naruto sighed and looked away, "So you cared about her."

"I LOVED her!"

Naruto looked at Sasuke, shocked. The same expressions were on the citizens.

"I loved Sakura! I just didn't want to tell her because this exact thing would happen- Itachi would take her away!"

A hand was placed on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke shuddered at the sudden contact.

"Sasuke," a voice soothed. It was none other than Tsunade.

Sasuke turned around and looked up. "Tsunade-sama," he mumbled. He quickly wiped his tears away and stood up, trying to look calm. "We...failed." He held a few tears back as he said those two words.

Tsunade nodded understandingly and motioned Naruto to approach them. "Both of you need to rest," she stated, "You're in no condition to do any missions or trainings."

Sasuke and Naruto bowed with a "Thank You" and walked off somewhere.

"That was embarrassing," Sasuke muttered to Naruto.

"Yeah...for you," Naruto chuckled lightly.

The two best friends were sitting on a branch of a sakura tree at the park. They decided to just hang out over there because it was peaceful and deserted for the moment. They had a small conversation as pink petals slowly descended onto the nearby river.

A flower drifted down on Sasuke head. He felt its light weight and took it in his hand, staring at it thoughtfully. _Sakura..._

As if reading his mind, Naruto piped, "Sakura." Sasuke looked up at him, confused. "The flower you're holding. It's a sakura. Beautiful isn't it?" He smiled.

Sasuke looked back at the delicate flower and said, "Yeah. It reminds me of...her." He took threw the sakura into the river and closed his eyes. "We'll get her back."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Even if I have to risk my own life!" He balled his hand into a fist and grinned triumphantly.

Sasuke chuckled and looked up. Petals were slowly falling, and so were flowers. The sun's rays reflected the color of the marvelous little flowers, making a shade of pink on his face.

"Awww," Naruto remarked teasingly, "Sasuke's blushing." He laughed.

Sasuke sent him a playful glare and said, "Shut up dobe."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter sucked. Sorry. 


	4. Chapter 4

The Akatsuki meeting was finished and Itachi decided to go to his room. When he got there, his mouth almost fell open. _Good thing I have self control. _

Sakura stood by the bed, looking blank yet angry at the same time. Her clothes were black and red.She wore:a black shirt with red edges that reached down to her waist, a red 'parted skirt' with black shorts underneath, and black sandals.

"Well?" she asked irritatedly, "Can we talk NOW? I already put on the clothes you gave me."

Itachi snapped out of his small trance and said, "Of course."

Two minutes of talking later...

"What do you mean I can't kill them?" Sakura screamed.

Itachi slightly flinched and said, "Kisame and I need to teach you for a while in how to fight like an Akatsuki member. You need training."

Sakura was offended. "Why you!" She lunged at him with a fist, only to have her face on the bed and her hands tied behind her back.

"Like I said...training." Itachi looked up at her head and saw her forehead protector. His eyes narrowed on it. He untied it from her head and took out a kunai, releasing her.

Sakura quickly turned around and saw Itachi slash his kunai right across her forehead protector. "What do you think you're doing?" She snatched the item away from him and scowled.

"That's a sign," Itachi hummed, "That you're part of the Akatsuki. Now put it on. We're leaving to Suna."

Sakura placed her forehead protector on her head and asked, "Why Suna? Kisame will rot there."

"We're not going to stay, we're there to assasinate the Kazekage."

Sakura's eyes seemed to lighten up. "Assasinate eh?" She grabbed a bandage roll and tied it around her right thigh. She then placed a black rubber band on top of the bandages and put a kunai in between. "I'm ready."

Itachi patted her head. "Good girl." They both met up with Kisame in the hallway and left for Suna afterwards.

It took half a day, but the trio finally made it to Suna. Kisame and Itachi were in perfect status, but Sakura was panting and sweating, and was also very exhausted. "Can we rest?" sheasked, her voice hoarse. Her throat was very dry.

Kisame and Itachi looked at her_. Pathetic_.

Itachi gave a sigh and replied, "Kisame, we should rest."

"Tired?" Kisame teased.

Itachi gave him a hard glare. "Sakura's not used to this. She needs to learn how to kill without mercy, thus, making this mission her first training course. She needs her rest."

Kisame gave a smirk and said, "Very well."

Sakura looked up at Itachi and asked, "Well?"

"We rest at the rock over there," Kisame informed, pointing north at the big rocks that looked like mountains.

"Need a lift?" Itachi asked Sakura.

Sakura shook her head and leapt towards the rocks. "I can do this," she stated, "I consider it as part of my training of becoming an Akatsuki member." Kisame and Itachi smiled inwardly at their young student's strong determination and followed her.

"We're in luck," Sakura muttered to her 'senseis', "There's a cave."

The three made themselves at home in the small cave. Kisame left to find food a while back, Sakura was preparing her 'room', and Itachi just sat on a rock with his head down.

"Are you going to sleep like that?"

Itachi lifted his head to find Sakura looking at him with an arched eyebrow. He decided to ignore her and huffed, closing his eyes.

Sakura frowned at his action and growled, "Hello? I asked you a question! Now answer it or-"

Itachi pinned Sakura to the wall and gave her a stinging glare. Sakura shuddered a bit.

"Don't talk to me like I'm your servant," Itachi whispered into her ear venomously, "I can kill you at anytime."

Sakura regained her calm composure and leaned towards Itachi a bit. "I know that," she whispered back calmly, "But why should I care?"She chuckled softly.

Sakura gasped when she felt Itachi's hand on her cheek, tracing her jaw lines. "I-Itachi," she sighed_. What is he doing_? When she looked into his eyes, she froze. There was something in them that scared her- desire. She gulped and remained still.

_How could Sasuke let something so precious like her, slip away? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such shame_. He sensed her pulse quicken and smirked.

"Uh...am I interrupting something?" Kisame's voice echoed.

Itachi and Sakura turned their heads towards him and Itachi backed up.

"No," Itachi answered flatly.

Kisame hid a mischievous smile and gave them their food.

After dinner, the three layed down on the floor, each 3 feet away from the other. They talked about a few things, except Itachi, and then fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke tossed and turned in his bed. Yes. The great Uchiha Sasuke was having a hard time sleeping. _Great. I'm starting to turn into Gaara. _He turned to his left and saw the old picture of Team 7. _Sakura. _He rose and took a closer look, drawing in the memories.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto yelled from out of nowhere.

Sasuke almost fell over (anime style) at the sound of Naruto's voice. "Damn you Naruto!" he shouted, turning around, "How'd you get in my house anyway?"

Naruto stood by the door, motioning Sasuke to follow. "No time to explain! Tsunade-sama wants to see us now!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Tsunade-sama?" Sasuke made a hand sign and disappeared as well.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sasuke and Naruto shouted as they entered the Hokage's office. They glared at each other.

"Boys!" Tsunade strictly chastised, "Sit! This is an urgent mission."

Sasuke and Naruto obeyed, sitting down on the chairs offered to them. "What's the mission?" asked Sasuke, looking expectant.

"Itachi and Kisame were spotted in Suna," Tsunade declared, "Along with some other ninja. I believe that the ninja might be Sakura. I want you two to investigate this. I'm sending Kakashi along with you for back up. Now go!" She waved her hand for dismissal and the two teens vanished within the blink of an eye.

"So...hot!" Naruto whined. It was only six in the morning, but the desert they were walking in was burning like it was three in the afternoon. "Are we there yet?"

"You dobe," Sasuke panted, "It takes at least six to eight hours to reach Suna. We've been traveling for two!"

"Shut up Know-It-All," Naruto remarked.

"You guys," Kakashi stated calmly, "Arguing won't help with anything. Just keep your minds off the heat and on the mission."

The two boys popped a vein (anime style) and glared at their former sensei. "Easy for you to say!" they both shouted at the same time, "You're topless, you don't have a backpack, and you've got your head in that perverted book of yours!"

Four hours later...

"Ah," Kakasi sighed, "We're here." No response. "Guys?" He turned around and saw Naruto and Sasuke on the ground- unconscious. He sweatdropped and decided to carry them to the Inn.

Naruto and Sasuke felt cool air touch their skins. They slowly started to stir and look around their surroundings. "Is this a mirage?" Naruto asked sleepily.

"No baka," Sasuke muttered, "This is the Inn.We must've passed out in the heat." The two sat up and looked at Kakashi, who, was asleep with his book on his face.Sasuke shook his sleepiness off and grumbled, "I'm going out." He exited the room.

Meanwhile...

Sakura crept around the outside walls of the Kazekage's house. She spotted Temari inside and was quickly filled with anger. Using a new technique she learned a few hours ago, she made a few hand signs and walked right through the solid wall.

"Temari..." Sakura's chilling whispers echoed throughout Temari's room.

Temari woke up and jumped out of bed, alert. "Who's there?" she asked the empty spaces. The echoes just came back. "Come out and fight you coward!"

Sakura emerged as a shadow from the roof and dropped on Temari, only to find the Temari she dropped on disappear into a mist_. An illusion_!

"Aha!" Temari cried, jumping out of bed and charging at Sakura with a kunai, "Now I've got you!"

Sakura turned around, stopping Temari in her tracks. "Hello...Temari."

"Sakura!" Temari yelped, "It's just you. What are you doing-" She didn't finish. Sakura was behind her.

"Say good-night," Sakura hissed. She karate chopped Temari on the neck, knocking her out. She then approached Temari with a kunai and looked down at her evilly. "Die!" She plunged her kunai into...a puppet? She turned around and saw Kankuro, moving his chakra strings around. "Who are you?"

"What are you doing Sakura?" Kankuro asked, flabbergasted. Sakura kept looking at him with her cold, green eyes and then disappeared. Kankuro didn't have time to react when Sakura kicked him to a wall, knocking him out as well.

"Sakura," Itachi called from behind her, "It's time for the main objective."

Sakura turned around and nodded. "Where's the Kazekage?"

"Here I am," a dark voice spoke. Itachi and Sakura turned around and saw Gaara by the doorway with his arms crossed. "So Sakura, you're part of the Akatsuki now?"

Sakura turned to face him and replied blankly, "Yes."

Gaara's eyes widened a bit_. Her eyes. They...changed. They're like mine and Uchiha's now_. He turned to Itachi and growled, "What have you done to her?"

"Nothing you should know of," came Kisame's voice.

Gaara turned around and saw the shark man standing behind him with an evil grin. "Let me guess," he mumbled, "The Akatsuki plan on assasinating me?"

"No," Sakura replied, "Just us." She lunged at him, but ended up strinking sand.

"You want a fight?" Gaara asked threateningly, "I'll give you one." Using his chakra, he used his sand to whip Sakura out of the window. He followed after.

"This should be interesting," Itachi remarked, walking towards the broken window.

* * *

**Hm... I wonder how the fight will turn out.**


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura fell on the ground and quickly stood up in a fighting stance. "Is that all you can do, Kazekage?" she taunted.

Gaara arrived at their 'battlefield', which was his backyard, and replied, "I don't wish to hurt you, but if hurting you is the only way to keep my people safe, then so be it!" His sand shot forward.

Sakura dogged it with ease and threw a shuriken Gaara. Of course, his sand blocked it, and she disappeared and then reappeared from above him with a kunai in her hand. She threw it at him. Unfortunately, his sand was fast, so it blocked her attack. _Damn._

Sakura landed on the ground and turned around to face Gaara. She made a few hand signs and then two Sakuras appeared next to her. They charged. Gaara's sand just rose to his front to form a barrier as the attacks hit. The two Sakura clones disappeared in a poof and the real Sakura collapsed, but immediately stood up again.

"I've had enough," Gara murmured. His sand started to move towards Sakura and grabbed her legs.

"Let go of me!" Sakura screamed. Instead, the sand made its way up to her whole body and started to wrap her into a small cacoon.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara closed his hand and his sand followed the same movement. The last thing heard was Sakura's painful cry as the sand crushed her.

When Gaara retreated his sand, he found something very disturbing. Sakura wasn't there, but a log instead_. A replacement technique_! He quickly turned around, but it was too late. Sakura had already dug her kunai into his arm and ran past him before his sand could get hold of her.

"Don't underestimate me," Sakura purred as she went in for another charge.

Gaara winced at the pain_. She...she actually got to me! That weak kunoichi...got to ME? _He turned around and snarled, "You no good-"

"Cursing won't help." Sakura was only inches away from her attack, but it was blocked by...Sasuke? She looked up and saw the raven-haired, teenage Uchiha blocking her with his arm. She scowled in annoyance.

Sasuke looked down at Sakura with wide eyes_. This is Sakura? What's Itachi done to her? _

"Get out of my way!" Sakura hissed. She grabbed his arm and threw him aside. But just when she was about to make her attack on the wounded Gaara, his sand had pounded her onto the wall of his house. She yelped in pain.

"I'll kill you!" Gaara roared.

All of a sudden, his sand broke. He looked to his right and saw Itachi and Kisame next to the now unconscious Sakura.

"That will be all, Kazekage," said Itachi. He picked up Sakura, bridal style, and started to walk away with Kisame.

Sasuke rose to his feet and shouted, "Itachi! What have you done to Sakura?"

Itachi didn't respond. Sasuke, in his anger, charged at his brother, only to get knocked back down into the ground by Kisame's fist. The Akatsuki trio then disappeared like thin air.

Gaara fell on his knees and took the kunai out of his arm, hissing at the pain. He threw the kunai somewhere and held his bleeding arm. _Wounded by a pink kunoichi. How lame. _

"She's gotten stronger huh?" Sasuke asked out of the blue. He struggled to get up, grinning at Gaara sadistically.

Gaara huffed but confessed lowly, "Yeah. She got to me."

Sasuke was finally able to sit up and was wiping away the blood from his mouth. "I've got to get her back. Tsunade-sama needs her, her family needs her, Konoha needs her..." His voice started to trail off.

"You need her," Gaara remarked with a smirk. Sasuke glared at him. "Oh come on. It's obvious that you've fallen for her. The way you're talking about her now...it makes your feelings clear as glass.

Sasuke sighed. "Guilty." The two just sat there in silence for a while.

"Sasuke," Kakashi's voice popped.

Sasuke looked up and greeted his casual, "Yo."

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto's voice boomed, "What the heck happened here? It looks like you and Gaara were beaten up pretty bad. Wait...Gaara was beaten up?"

Gaara scowled and looked away in shame. _Stupid fox. He's practically trying to embarrass me. _

Kakashi looked at Sasuke with a worried face. "It was Sakura, wasn't it?"

Sasuke bowed his head and nodded. "She was with Kisame and Itachi."

Kakashi nodded understandingly and said, "Lets go back to the Inn to regroup and plan this out okay?" Sasuke nodded.

The three left and Naruto yelled back to Gaara, "See you around, Kazekage!"

Gaara kept a straight face as he watched them leave. _It's GAARA, you idiot! GAARA!

* * *

_

**Sorry guys. I won't be updating much today cuz I'm off to watch Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest! Woohoo! Go Orlando Bloom!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Sakura...wake up."

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open to find crimson orbs looking down at her. "Itachi...," she murmured, "How did I do?" She sat up and yawned.

"Well." Itachi gave her a smirk. "The Kazekage was wounded. He'll rot." _Not._

Sakura's eyes widened a tad and then drooped. She sadly looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I was supposed to kill the Kazekage, but instead...I just wounded him." Sakura then felt a droplet on her hands and moisture on her cheeks. She placed a hand on her cheek and cursed. "Damn it! I'm crying!"

Itachi wiped Sakura's tears away with his index finger, surprising her. "Don't cry. You did fine." Unconsciously, he kissed her forehead. _Why the heck did I do that?_

Sakura gasped at his contact. _He...kissed my forehead!_ She blushed and smiled to herself.

"Ahem," grumbled a deep voice.

Itachi pulled back and turned his head to see Kisame by the entrance, smirking. "Kisame."

"Itachi, may I have a talk with you outside? A private one?"

Itachi nodded and stood up. "Sakura, you stay here."

"Okay," Sakura whispered. She huddled herself, still blushing.

As soon as Kisame and Itachi were outside, Kisame was the first to start off their little talk. "Itachi, are you developing feelings for our young student?"

Itachi closed his eyes and answered flatly, "No."

"I wouldn't buy that answer one yin. It's as clear as glass that you are."

"Are you questioning my answer, Kisame?"

"Indeed I am."

Itachi sent the blue man a cold glare.

"Glaring won't help, Itachi."

Itachi gave a sigh. "Perhaps I may be developing unwanted feelings for the young kunoichi."

Kisame smirked. _Score! _"Well, you must throw those feelings aside. They'll get in the way of the way of the Akatsuki."

"How? My feelings...they're taking over me."Itachi gave another sigh. "Just when I thought I've sealed them away years ago..."

"Actually, I think only one of your many feelings snuck out."

"Which?"

"Lust."

Itachi lokked at him with a face that said 'What the heck are you talking about?'

"Itachi, it's so obvious!"

"And may I ask again how?"

"You're desperate for contact with her."

Itachi looked away and said, "Lets not have this talk again. Some things are just better off unsaid."

As the two men were having their talk, a certain kunoichi stood by the entrance, listening to every word said.

"Itachi...has feelings for me?" Sakura whispered to herself. She closed her eyes as her tears fell. She had also heard them about her memories being changed and her forgetting happiness. She stealthily ran out of the hideout.

Sakura sat on a roof of a random house in Suna. She gazed up at the stars, deep in her thoughts...forgetting to mask her chakra. _Who was I before this? Were the people who I tried to kill my, what others call it, friends? What in the world is-_

She was cut off from her thoughts when she felt a cloth on her face. She tried to scream, but suddenly blacked out.

"Whoa...Sasuke-teme. You were right! She did change."

The voice was familiar to Sakura somehow. She opened her eyes to see two teenage boys and a man staring at her. She spotted a very familiar Uchiha and hissed, "Let me go this instant!" She started to struggle against the ropes that held her to a chair. She reached for her kunai, but found it gone.

"Looking for this?" Kakashi asked, holding up her pack with the shuriken and her kunai.

Sakura glared at them and spat, "You idiots! Itachi will come here and kill you all! And then I'll kill you again!" She continued to struggle, but something inside told her to stop. She gave a sigh and relaxed. _It's no use! _She lowered her head and started to cry.

Sasuke looked at Sakura with a straight face, yet his eyes showed pity. He took a step towards her and said, "Sakura...don't cry."

Sakura sadly looked up at him and asked, "Who was I?" The three males arched an eyebrow at her question. "I mean...who was I before this? Were you guys my...my...friends?" She then looked away and blushed a bit at her own question.

"You were a very smart and cheerful young girl," Kakashi answered somberly, as if though making a speech at a funeral. "You always smiled and laughed, even though things were bad."

"You encouraged others to keep trying," Naruto added, having the same tone and expression as Kakashi, "And you never gave up on them or yourself."

"You helped people that came from the darkness come into the light," Sasuke mumbled thoughtfully, "And like what Naruto said...you never gave up on them." _That's what you did to me._

Sakura was surprised at these answers. _I was that person? Wow... what's Itachi done to me? _"And what's the answer to my last question?" she asked.

"Yes," the three ninjas answered.

Sakura looked up at them and, for the first time, gave a genuine smile.She cried and laughed. She was actually happy. "I'm so sorry," she sniffed, "For hurting you. I-I didn't know." She shut her eyes and wept. Kakashi untied her and she rose, her face buried in her hands. "I'm sorry..."

All of a sudden,much to everyone's surprise, Sasuke embraced Sakura. Her eyes snapped open as she blushed furiously and stood frozen.

"Sakura,"Sasuke whispered, "Please...come back to us. We miss you..." He hugged her tighter, as if his life depended on her answer. Kakashi and Naruto just watched the scene.

Sakura found her control and gently hugged him back saying, "I want to...and I will. But, I need help getting back my real memories first."

Sasuke parted from her and said, "Of course."

"Aaawwww," Naruto awed, "That was so cute! I should've brought my camera."

"I did," Kakashi chuckled, "And I took a picture."

Sasuke and Sakura both shouted at the same time, "Kakashi!"

Sakura was brought back to reality and quickly said, "I have to go. Itachi might find out that I left the hideout."

Sasuke opened the window for her and said, "See you again soon."

Sakura nodded and jumped out.

"Good to have her back," Kakashi sighed, "Now it's time to sleep."

Sakura made it to the hideout and to her luck, Itachi and Kisame were still outside talking. "Good." She quietly snuck into the cave and immediately pretended to be asleep_. I WILL get my memories back. No matter what it takes_. She closed her eyes and sleep slowly overtook her.

* * *

**Cha! Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest rocked! Loved it! Anyway... here's Chapter 7. The climax of the story is coming. What will happen next? Hmmm...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: I'm just making up the techiniques and hand signs.**

* * *

It was dawn in Suna. Sasuke woke up before Naruto and Kakashi and had already changed and left the Inn. He needed all the time he could get to find his brother's hideout. He leapt through the building the rooftops and dodged Suna citizens during his search. 

Suddenly, he halted to a stop. He was well hidden behind the leaves and shadows of a tree, and thank goodness for that. He saw Itachi training Sakura just a few meters away. He quickly went to work on masking his chakra.

"Sakura," Itachi sternly toned, "Do it again. You must master this technique."

Sakura sat panting on the ground. She had been practicing the Invisibility Technique Itachi taught her for the past three hours and was extremely exhausted. "I-tachi," she breathed, "Can't I...rest...f-irst?" She dizzily stood up and looked up at the scowling Uchiha.

"No," he answered blankly.

Sakura groaned and straightened her crooked position. She then made the hand signs: Horse, Boar, Rat, Tiger. "Invisibility Technique!" she cried. Her body started to disappear- from her legs up to her...neck. Now she looked like a girl with no body. "And I still can't get it right!" she whined.

"Do it again," Itachi commanded.

Sakura was running out of chakra. If she went on any longer, she would be paralyzed for three days. She gave a exasperated sigh and shouted, "Itachi, if I go on my body will freeze for three days straight! I don't care what you tell me to do, I'm not going to do it anymore!" Her body reappeared and she collapsed. _I'm out._

Itachi grabbed her arms and pinned her to the ground vigorously. "Listen," he growled, "You will master this technique wether you like it or not. If I have to force you, then I will."

Sakura squirmed under him, her hips grinding against his. "Let me go!" she squeaked.

Itachi liked her movements. It felt...good...to him. He leaned down beside her ear and whispered huskily, "Why would I want to do that?"

The tone of his voice sent shivers down Sakura's spine. She squirmed even more. "For the last time... Let me go!"

That did it. Her grinding was just too much for Itachi to take. He roughly took her lips into his own, smirking as he did so. "No."

Sasuke was very angry now. He had been watching the whole scene, which didn't really tick him off much, but the kissing scene just made him boil. _How dare he kiss her? He's a demon! I'm going to kill him!_

Sakura did not like their contact at all. She struggled to keep her lips closed as Itachi kept biting and licking her lower lip, begging- more like demanding -for entrance. She refused and struggled against him. _Sasuke...help me! Please! _She gasped when Itachi bit her lower lip harder, making way for his tongue.

Itachi darted his tongue inside Sakura's mouth, hungrily roaming and exploring inside. He liked the way she tasted- vanilla with a bit of strawberry. _Must've been the gum she was eating. _

**Bam! Thud! **Itachi's head hit the ground full force. He sat up, glaring towards Sakura's direction, only to glare at his younger sibling. "Sasuke."

Sasuke's sharingan seemed to be redder than usual, probably because he was really mad. He turned to Sakura and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Destroy him!" Kisame ordered from afar. He seemed to pop out from nowhere most of the time.

Sakura sat up and looked at Sasuke with a face that said "I'm sorry." She lifted one of her legs that was closest to him and kicked him to a nearby rock. _I can't have Itachi and Kisame suspecting a thing. I have to obey them._

When Sasuke hit the rock, he already figured out Sakura's plan. _Don't worry Sakura. I understand what you're trying to do. _He slid down and fell on his knees, wincing at his pain. He decided to play along with her little game. "Sakura," he choked, 'Don't you remember me? It's me, Sasuke!"

Sakura figured out his act and replied, "Of course. You're one of the people who pushed me into the mud puddle when I was young. I'm going to make you pay!" She stood at a fighting stance.

Sasuke did the same and said, "No! I was your team mate when we were twelve!"

"Enough of this nonsense!" Itachi fumed, "Sakura, kill him! Fight to the finish!"

Sakura inwardly gasped. _What? No! This wasn't supposed to happen! We were only supposed to pretend to fight so that Sasuke could disappear in the middle of battle! Not kill each other!_

Sasuke had the same reaction as her. _I can't fight her. I'm much stronger than her and she's running out of chakra. She'll die! _

Itachi watched the paused scene and shouted, "Sakura! Do as I say!"

Sakura and Sasuke mentally gulped and looked at each other, saying in their minds, "I'm sorry. This wasn't part of the plan." The two teens charged at each other.


	9. Chapter 9

Sasuke was the one to make the first move. He quickly vanished into thin air, leaving Sakura frozen in place. He then appeared behind her and froze himself. _What do I do? I can't hurt her!_

Sakura noticed Sasuke behind her and felt tears rushing into her eyes. _I'm sorry. _She made a 180 degree turn and kicked Sasuke on his back. he cried out inpain and collapsed. She looked down at him with sad eyes, yet her face showed no emotion. She took out her kunai and dove it down on him.

Sasuke instantly forgot his pain and dodged Sakura's attack_.That's it. I have to pretend to lose. But I can't have Sakura knowing it_. He charged at her, only to meet her fist on his face, and then the ground afterwards.

"Good plan," Kisame commented his partner, "Sasuke cannot hurt her. It's against his will. Resulting in-"

"Death," Itachi finished for the shark man, "His own pathetic death."

Sasuke stood up and went in for another charge. Sakura readied her kunai and lunged at him.

Both of the teens met in a clash, but Sasuke was the one who had his blood flowing freely from his abdomen. He gave an agonizing cry and fell on the ground, clutching his wound_. Damn! I'm gonna die in a few minutes! Mission failed_... All of his movementsjust stopped, all at once.

Sakura's eyes turned wide_. Sasuke-kun...no_! A tear fell from her right eye. "Itachi," she toned, "He's dead." She felt her heart break as she said the last sentence.

**Poof!** Five Narutos appeared and surrounded the two Akatsuki members.

Kakashi appeared next to Sasuke and picked him up. He then looked at Sakura and whispered, "You had to do it. Don't worry...he'll be fine."

Sakura nodded and said,"Gomen." She tackled him off of the mountainous rocks.

Kakashi smiled from under his mask. "Hai...good job."

"Kakashi!" the Narutos yelled, but then all disappeared after Kisame sliced them all clean with his sword.

Itachi remained emotionless; his sharingan already showed it clear that the real Naruto wasn't with them. He turned to his two 'team mates' and commanded, "Lets move out. We must return to headquarters."

Sakura and Kisame looked at him and said, "Hai." The three then took off. As they leapt through the buildings, Sakura secretly looked back and whispered, "Gomen, Sasuke-kun."

At the Suna hospital, Sasuke was waking up. He looked around and immediately acknowledged his surroundings_. Great...I'm in a hospital bed_.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto greeted happily, "Ohayo! You've been asleep for one day straight! No wonder... You were in critical condition when you arrived here yesterday."

It took a bit of time to registerNaruto's words into his head_. Yesterday...yesterday... Yesterday! Sakura_! He quickly sat up and shouted, "Sakura!" He then grunted as pain shot through his stomach and chest and quickly fell back on his bed.

"Now who's the loud-mouthed ninja?" Naruto asked mockingly. He then grinned and said,"Don't worry, Sasuke-teme. Sakura-chan's fine. She'll be back with us in no time."

Sasuke sighed. "I hope so." He looked outside the window and saw a butterfly flutter by_. Sakura, hang in there. You'll be back in Konohasoon...I promise._

_

* * *

_

**Uh...hope you guys liked it. Just to let you know, I suck at battle scenes. So...please forgive and forget. What was the name of Kisame's sword thingy again:)**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back, and with good news! Remember when I said I was baking cookies and I always end up burning them? Well not this time! This time, they were only half burned! Major improvement huh? (Smiles Smugly) Anyway...I'm calling their leader, Leader now.**

* * *

"Itachi," the Akatsuki leader hummed, "I see you're back. Did the kunoichi learn any new moves we would like to see?" The other members looked at the three expectantly. 

"Yes," Itachi answered coolly. He looked at Sakura.

Sakura took a step forward and formed the hand signs. "Invisibility Technique!" In a blink of an eye, she disappeared. "Undo!" She reappeared.

"Is that all?" the leader asked.

No response.

"May we have a little talk?" the leader seemed to growl."Kunoichi, you go off doing about your own business. I must talk with your senseis for a while."

Sakura politely bowed and said, "Yes master." She then left the room.

"Itachi," Leader grumbled, "I told you to teach the kunoichi our techniques and jutsus.I meant many, not one." The whole room echoed in evil laughters.

Itachi sighed_. This is going to be a long meeting._

Meanwhile...

Sakura wandered off into a small chamber. She saw something glowing from afar and curiostiy got the best of her. She tiptoed towards the faint light and saw it up close as a pink orb in a jar. "Hm," she whispered to herself, "I wonder what will happen?" She opened the jar and released the orb, which, went into her head. Her eyes widened and then drooped. She was now in a trance in her own mind.

_Flashback_

_Twelve year old Sakura sliced her long pink hair with her kunai. The woman that held her hair was forced to release her. Her forehead protector, without the slash, slipped off of her head. "Please...," she whispered as she stood up, "Watch my back."_

_The black-haired woman charged at Sakura with a kunai, only to stab a log instead. "A substitution jutsu!" the woman exclaimed._

_The real Sakura was running towards a spiky-haired guy with holes in his hands. She then threw three kunai at him, only to have them reflected back at her. She quickly formed the hand signs for the substitution jutsu and reappeared in mid-air._

_The spiky-haired guy took out his own three kunai and threw them at her. Thinking she was going to use the substitution justsu again, he let his guard down, only to knocked down onto the ground by the Sakura he hit with his own kunai._

_End of flashback_

Sakura entered another memory room.

_Flashback_

_Eight year old Sakura sat on the ground crying as a blond girl approached her._

_"Hey," the blond said, "Aren't you the one they're always teasing because you've got such a big forhead?"_

_Sakura looked up and choked, "Who-who are you?"_

_"Who me? That's easy. I'm Ino Yamanaka. Who are you?"_

_"My name's...Sakura..."_

_Ino giggled lightly. "Huh? Hello! I can't hear you. Let's try that again okay. Who are you?"_

_"My name is Sakura!" Sakura shouted through her tears._

_"That's better." Ino placed her finger on Sakura's forehead. "So this is the famous forehead huh? Whoa! It is kinda big. So that's why you hide it with your bangs? That's dumb. It just makes it look worse."_

_Sakura continued to cry and snivel._

_Ino stared at the young girl and smiled. "So you're Sakura, huh?"_

_Sakura looked up at her and sniffed, "Uh...huh."_

_"Hey you know what? I've got something special for you. Come back here tomorrow okay?"_

_Time skip to the next day..._

_"There, see?" Ino remarked, "What an improvement. You look a lot better. You can keep that ribbon."_

_Sakura stood in front of her blond friend, blushing. The red ribbon was on her head now, tying back some of her bangs. "Oh...," she mumbled shyly, "Thanks. But..."_

_"Huh? But what?"_

_"My forehead..."_

_"Oh come on!" Ino scolded gently, "The more you try to hide it, the more big of a deal you make out of it! And your face isn't that bad. It's actually a pretty good face. You've just gotta be more confident."_

_Sakura gasped a little. "Confident..."_

_End of flashback_

Sakura was brought back to reality and was standing in the chamber dizzily. _Those must've been my real memories. _She quickly put the jar back in its place and snuck out of the Akatsuki headquarters. _I've gotta go to Konoha to find the truth and missing links of my memories._


	11. Chapter 11: War!

**Just so you people know: The 'little talk' with Leader took fifteen minutes. For Sakura to come back to reality and leave took ten minutes. On her way to Konoha, flashbacks occured. Well...enjoy.**

* * *

Itachi went up the stairs of the Akatsuki building to find Sakura. To his inner horror, he sensed a faint trace of femenine chakra that led to a small chamber. He quickly ran into the small room and found the jar empty. _Damn! She found it! _He ran back down the stairs and told Kisame the news, calmly though. Afterwards, the two of them dashed out of the door. 

Sakura was only a mile away from Konoha. In her speed, she'd get there in only five or six minutes. She entered the forest, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. After her fouth jump, she masked her chakra completely.

"What?" the hospital room boomed with loud shouts and gasps.

Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino all stared at Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke in disbelief. The three males had told the big group the whole story about their encounter with Sakura and now the whole room was loud and chaotic.

"Sakura did this?" Ino asked loudly, pointing at Sasuke's bandaged body, "But why?"

"Sakura would never do this," Hinata insisted. She refused to give in to the fact.

"Hinata's right," Tenten remarked, "She has no reason to."

"Unless she decided to turn on us," Neji snorted.

"Sakura-chan would never do that!" Lee shouted.

"That's right," a voice came from behind the arguing group.

Everyone looked towards the door to see Sakura standing by it with a smile. "I would never turn on you guys," she informed, "For me, that's worse than scuicide and murder combined." She looked at Sasuke. "Gomen, Sasuke-kun. But I had to do it. Itachi and Kisame would start to suspect things."

Ino ran to her best friend and hugged her tight. "Oh Sakura!" she cried, "We missed you! What happened to you?"

To Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke's relief, Sakura answered playfully, "You'd better let go of me, Ino-pig!"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, "You're memories! They're back?"

Sakura lit up a smile and said, "Yep. But I still have the ones of the previous two weeks." The whole group surrounded her and and showered her with all sorts of questions. _It's good to be back._

Itachi and Kisame were leaping great distances at high speed. "We have to kill her," Itachi mumbled beneath his collar, "She still keeps the knowledge of the location of our headquarters."

"This is all your fault," Kisame whined.

"Shut your mouth and jump!" Itachi ordered. They were closing in on Konoha, and he wanted to finish off Sakura as quickly as possible. _You're dead, kunoichi._

After a good ten minutes of answering questions, Sakura finally declared, "Itachi's coming!"

Silence.

"He's coming and we need to finish him off right here and now!" Sakura continued bravely, "If we all work together and cooperate...we have a good chance in beating him!" She then spoke in a softer tone with her head down. "He's been a merciless man with sinful intentions for everyone. We need to stop him. If we don't...many innocent lives could be lost." She looked up at them with a stone hard stare. "I'll die fighting if I have to!"

One by one, the teenagers of the group stepped up and went with Sakura's plan. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke joined up with her as well. "Hai!" they all responded sharply.

Sakura smiled and then frowned slightly. "In my estimation, he should be here in about twenty minutes. But since his speed is twice more superior than mine...then make it ten or twelve minutes."

Everyone started to murmur.

Sakura walked up to Sasuke and gently placed a hand on his chest. She closed her eyes and focused her chakra. Within a few seconds, a green glow emerged from her hand and surrounded an awe-struck Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at her. _She's...healing my wounds! _After two minutes, he felt his pain disappear, and all of his tightened joints loosen for more flexibility. He sighed in pleasure.

Sakura removed her hand and shook off her dizzy feeling. "There," she sighed, "Good thing the Suna medics were good ones, or that would've taken hours to do." She stood up annd stretched. "Well then... Lets go to the Hokage to inform her about the plans."

Everyone nodded and went off to the hokage tower.

"You what?" Tsunade popped.

"We have to finish off Itachi once and for all. This is our chance. Please, Tsunade-sama. Many people need us to win this fight!" Sakura begged.

Tsunade gave an exasperated sigh and looked up at the pink-haired kunoichi. _Even though only a few weeks had passed, you've grown up dramatically._ As she opened her mouth, everyone leaned forward to listen. "Alright," she answered with a smile.

Everyone cheered, except Sasuke just flashed a quick smile. Sakura squealed and hugged herself in happiness.

Tsunade kept her smile on. "Now," she chided, silencing everybody in the room, "We have to make our plan. And here it is." Everybody leaned closer to the Hokage as she explained the ambush plans.

Ten minutes later, Itachi and Kisame darted into Konoha looking around intensely. They wandered further inside, where they found civilians running around and screaming when they were seen. The whole place was clear within just a minute. Itachi glared at every building. _Where is that annoying little-_

"Itachi!" Sakura's voice boomed from a nearby building.

Itachi and Kisame turned around. "Kunoichi!"they hissed.

"It's time to end this madness!" Sakura exclaimed. As she said those words, the group appeared on various Konoha buildings, along with many jounins and ANBUs. Tsunade appeared next to Sakura.

Itachi and Kisame both smirked. "Then so be it," Itachi declared, "I'll still kill you, kunoichi."

"Bring it on," Sakura taunted.

Sasuke appeared next to Sakura as well. "I'll finally have my goal fulfilled," he informed with a smirk, "The goal in killing my big brother, that is."

* * *

**This is getting sssoooo interesting! I hate my own cliffy! XO**


	12. Chapter 12

**Darn it! I forgot the name of Kisame's sword- again! Someone told me, but I lost the letter! And I also made up Sakura's techniques and jutsus.**

* * *

It was complete silence. The two Akatsuki men were surrounded by many well-trained ninjas. They were outnumbered. 

Itachi chuckled darkly, breaking the tense silence. "We may be outnumbered, but we'll still kill all of you in a matter of minutes." He then made two clones of himself.

Kisame readied his sword- thingy. "Lets go Itachi," he smirked.

Naruto cloned himself by five and charged, along with Kakashi and the ANBUs. Kisame charged towards the incoming ninjas at the same time swinging his sword.

The group united with the jonins and went for the Itachi clones. The Itachi clones did what the real Itachi would've done- counter attack.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Tsunade preyed on Itachi, who countered with reflexes and jutsus.

Kakashi used his chidori and Naruto used his rasengan. Kisame dodged their attacks, and then the ANBUs came in with their own attacks. Kisame swung his sword to a full 360, knocking the ANBUs out of mid-air and onto the rock hard walls of the buildings.

Now, only three ANBUs remained standing. They decided to use a paralysis jutsu. Kisame was caught. "We got him!" they shouted.

"No," a dark voice hummed in their ears, "I've got you."

The three ANBUs stiffly turned around and saw the grinning shark man. They cried out as Kisame swung his sword and pounded them into a wall.

Kakashi and Naruto looked up at Kisame angrily.

The Naruto clones charged at the blue man, only to get poofed away by his sword. Naruto's face then turned into a serious one. He stood up straight and focused on releasing his demon's chakra. A red circle formed under him and then whip-like red mists spiraled around him.

Kisame looked at Naruto and frowned. "He's releasing the demon's power!" He charged at Naruto, only to be blocked by Kakashi's chidori. He was slightly blown back, but immediately countered.

Kakashi fell on one knee. "He's not giving up!" he murmured. With a bit of mixture with scroll, blood, and earth, he summoned his dogs and stopped Kisame momentarily.

"Damn!" Kisame cursed. He threw the dogs off one by one and continued with his attack. But it was too late for him.

Naruto had gotten all of the demonic chakra out into the open. His eyes were red, his teeth were canines, and his fingernails turned into sharp claws. He snarled and charged at Kisame with unimaginable speed. "Die!"

Kisame swung his sword as defense, but it was blown from his hand when Naruto slashed it out with his claws.

Kisame stared at Naruto in horror. He was defenseless. "Oh no!"

Naruto lunged at him with sharp claws and howled. He started molding red chakra in his hand and finally formed the rasengan. A red rasengan. "Rasengan!" He slammed the chakra ball onto Kisame's chest, where his heart was located.

Kisame cried out in pain. Then, his heart stopped- literally. His circulation ended, and so did his unsteady breathing. Astream of blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth. He was dead.

Naruto jumped off of Kisame and returned into his full human form. "He's done."

Kakashi heaved a sigh and then collapsed. "Ow."

"Kakashi!" Naruto yelled. He ran to the silver-haired jonin. "Are you okay?"

Kakashi shook his head in dismay. "Two chidoris plus a summoning jutsu and use of sharingan equals heavy chakra wasted. I'm so low on my chakra that I can hardly stand."

Naruto looked around and said, "I'll stay with you. You're vulnerable to Itachi's attacks."

Kakashi smiled from under his mask. "Thank you, Naruto."

The Itachi clones effortlessly dodged the jonins' and the group's attacks. It was a very tiring battle since the Itachi clones were so high intheir speed and attack stats.

Then, Shikamaru was struck by an idea. He vanished in a blur and reappeared behind the two clones. Quickly forming the hand signs, he cried out, "Shadow Imitation jutsu!" His shadow stretched out and stuck themselves to the Itachi clones. He then shouted to the others, "Get them!"

The others obeyed and quickly went for the attack. The clones jumped out of the way and finished off the remaining jonins, leaving the group to fight by themselves. "What?" they all asked in surprised.

Shikamaru gasped and drew back his shadow. "What's going on? They should've been kept in place!"

The clones snickered and simultaneously said, "Fools. Clones don't carry their own shadow or body, making all shadow-related jutsus useless." They threw kunai at the teens.

The kunai were blocked by sand. Sand? The teens gaped at the people before them. The sand ninjas! Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari were there defending and helping them!

"Pick on someone closer to your age," Temari taunted and swept her gigantic fan. Razor winds blew at the clones, who dodged them with ease.

Rock Lee swiftly ran towards one clone, but despite his speed, he was knocked back to the group.

"Leave this to us," Gaara ordered. He whipped his sand towards the clones and caught their legs.

The group gawked_. How did he do that?_

"I'm not even gonna bother," Gaara grumbled. He turned to Kankuro.

Kankuro got the message and released his puppet. Using his chakra strings, his puppet darted out its poisonous needles and struck the clones. The clones froze at the hit, and then disappeared. "We're done here."

**Boom! **The area where the group and the sand ninjas were standing exploded and was engulfed in hot flames. The group was knocked out and so were Kankuro and Temari. Gaara was still standing, but was turning into glass. _Damn. _

Apparently, one of the clones they destroyed carried some sort of explosive that was triggered by touch. In this case, needle touch.

Now it was all up to the last trio; Sakura, Sasuke, and Tsunade. They were struggling in trying to land even the lightest hit on Itachi. No success.

Itachi stood on the ground, smirking. "Give up?" he teased.

Sakura fought her fatigue, and the same went for Sasuke. Tsunade still had a bit of strength left, so she was able to go on a little longer. "Never," she replied.

Itachi shrugged and took out a kunai. He then threw it at the Hokage. As he expected, she dodged it, falling into his deadly trap. He caught her eye and used his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Tsunade tried to close her eyes, but it was too late. She was caught in his fatal technique. "No!" she cried.

"You will experience unimaginable pain for 48 hours," Itachi explained calmly, "Just note. In this world you're about to enter, I control time and space."

Tsunade awoke to find herself tied to a pole with her arms spead out. "What's going on?" She then saw itachi in front of her with a sword in his hand. A very long and sharp sword. Her eyes widened. _This...this is the same exact thing that happened to Kakashi! This is bad!_

Itachi stuck the sword into her, earning an agonizing scream. And so, he kept stabbing swords into her and so on and so on until her 48 hour torture was finished.

Sakura and Sasuke watched in horror as Tsunade shook and screamed."Sasuke," Sakura asked, "What's happening to Tsunade-sama?"

Sasuke looked away and then to his brother. "His deadly technique. The Mangekyo Sharingan. Tsunade will be in no condition when her mind leaves that world."

Sakura gasped and turned to Itachi screaming, "Itachi, stop it!"

Obviously, Itachi ignored her plea and continued with his torment on the weakened Hokage. "24 hours left," he muttered.

A minute and thirty seconds passed, and Tsunade's mind was finally free. Yet, the pain she experienced were still in her body. She hissed at the pain and hoarsely whispered, "I'm sorry...Sakura." She fainted.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura cried. She turned to Itachi with angry eyes. "You monster!"

"Giving him insults won't work Sakura," Sasuke informed. "We have to destroy him."

Sakura nodded weakly and potsitioned herself to a fighting stance. "Right. Let's go."

Sasuke and Sakura both charged at Itachi. Sasuke used his fireball jutsus and Sakura used her normal attacks. Itachi dodged all of their attacks and countered with his fire jutsus, only to have them miss as well.

Sakura stopped in her tracks. She formed various hand signs and then cried, "Crystal Counter Technique!" A shimmering veil appeared in front of her as Itachi blew a flamethrower towards her. His flame was reflected, but he dodged that.

"I see you've been practicing," Itachi chuckled, knowing that it was Kisame who taught her that technique. "Argh!" A stinging, burning pain shot through his back_. Sasuke and his pathetic fireballs_. He tuned around and threw a shuriken at the younger Uchiha, only to have missed again.

Sakura kicked Itachi from below, sending him upwards. She then jumped on top of the tallest building rooftop_. This is it. Don't mess it up, Sasuke._

Sasuke instantly knew her plan and met in level with Itachi. He punched his brother's stomach, elevating the older Uchiha. He then made a 180 turn and kicked Itachi multiple times, ascending at each kick. As a final strike, he sunk his kunai into Itachi's abdomen and then took it out again. He smirked and threw a long, big, metallic needle to a nearby wall. "Goodbye, Itachi." He left his brother and returned to the ground.

It was Sakura's turn. She met Itachi's airborne level and the needle's. It was a straight, and perfect line. She lunged at him and kicked him, but not before getting stabbed by her victim with a kunai. He looked up at her and smirked as he was blown to the needle, and was pierced through. That was the end of Itachi Uchiha.

Sakura's eyes began to close. She took out the kunai in her stomach and fell into Sasuke's arms. "Sasuke-kun...," she whispered, before blacking out.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shook her to wake up, but she didn't. "Sakura!"

* * *

**Sorry people. But that's not the ending. There's one more chapter. It's short though, so I'll update it in no time.**


	13. Chapter 13

**NOOO! I am so dumb! I forgot to save now I have to start over! (Cries anime style)**

**And by the way, Sakura was in a three-day koma and forgot that Itachi kidnapped her.**

* * *

Sakura woke up with a throbbing pain in her head. She sat up and smiled when she saw Tsunade in front of her. "Ohayo." 

"Ohayo," Tsunade greeted back.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura started, "Am I well enough to go? I know it's all very sudden but, I'm kinda bored."

Tsunade nodded. "Of course.Within an hour you should be well enough to go home."

Sakura looked at the clock on the wall. Five o'clock. "Why an hour?"

Tsunade opened the door and made way for the kunoichi's friends. "Sakura!" they all cried.

"Oh." Sakura smiled at them, but deep inside she was hurt. _Sasuke-kun's not with them._

_

* * *

_An hour later, Sakura finally made it out of the hospital. It was a clear, starry night, and there was still enough light for her to walk home by herself. 

Sakura reached her house and was about to unlock it when...

"Sakura."

Sakura turned around and smiled. "Hello, Sasuke-kun. What are you doing here?"

Sasuke stepped out of the shows and looked at her with a blank expression_. Should I do this now? Oh fine. It's not like Itachi's around anymore_. He walked up to her and said, "I'm sorry."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For everything. Past and present. How...I've always treated you."

Sakura shrugged and lightly laughed. "Forget it. We were young. Oh, and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"How I acted towards you when you just came back. I just thought that if I didn't make it obvious that I still loved you..." Sakura trailed off.

Sasuke's ears seemed to perk up. "You...still love me?"

Sakura heaved a sigh and shyly nodded. "I just thought that my mistake back then was making it so obvious. That's why you pushed me away all-" She was silenced when Sasuke gently embraced her. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura...I... I love...you," Sasuke uttered out. He had to swallow in every bit of his ego to say that simple line. He slightly parted from her and looked into her eyes.

Sakura blushed intensely as tears fell from her eyes. She smiled and, without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Sasuke was stunned. He didn't move at first, but then circled his own arms around her waist. _I love you more than life itself, Sakura._

Realizing what she had just done, Sakura gasped as she broke away from the kiss. "I-I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I-" She was silenced again, but this time with Sasuke's lips_. He...he accepted!_

She allowed her tears to freely stream down her flushing cheeks as she softly returned the kiss.

* * *

**Finally! I'm done! Phew. Hope you guys liked it.**


End file.
